MEDITATE THE POUNDS AWAY: How I Met My Weight Loss and Wellness Goals Through Meditation

Category Archives: failure

I knew it was coming. I knew the 17th was the start of that dreaded period. I’ve come to believe that when Mercury is in Retrograde, it affects lives. Electronics and gadgets don’t work right. Things just go askew in one’s life. Mercury is in retrograde until October 9th. The last retrograde period, my very-capable, very-powerful laptop lost it. The keyboard stopped working properly, and somehow in the process, the motherboard shorted in the area where the keyboard is controlled. So we attempted to order a new mother board and keyboard. None of them ever worked. Thus I was forced to buy a new, powerful ‘desktop replacement’ laptop. I need the power for graphics which is the main part of my ‘real job’. Well, you can bet THAT wasn’t cheap and it definitely was NOT budgeted! And then, there is the time it takes to transfer 1.5 TB in files and configure a new machine. I was out of commission for weeks. Grrrrr…

So, I thought I’d be safe this time. I’d already a few months ago, accidentally dropped my iPhone into water, retrieved it and had it successfully repaired. Nothing can go wrong, I thought. Wrongo! Today I jumped in the car to run two deadline-sensitive errands. I’d put it off, dreading the prospect of getting out in the out-of-control biker traffic for this weekend’s event. I still had time, I reasoned! I just planned to make my deposit by 1 PM when the bank closed, and I needed to drop off my sales tax reports at the post office by 1 ish. I sat in the driver’s seat, pushed the button. LIGHTS! Everywhere were lights! Clicks, bells, dings, flashing lights! The seat moved up and back, the steering wheel moved back and forth, all on it’s own. It reminded me of the scene from ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. Of course, the car wouldn’t start at all. Everything inside was locked. What the hell???? Let me tell you, when you have a computer controlled car and when one thing goes south, it’s a nightmare! Hello? Mercury? Why me?

I said to myself “Ok. I’ve not ridden the scooter in a while so I’ll just use it.” No way. It wouldn’t start either.

My husband came home, removed the old battery from my car and headed to Sears.

With the deadlines, I knew I had to start walking. Nothing like a stroll at high noon, in the sun in September in the sub-tropics and on a deadline. My friend at the bank invited me in to cool off but I needed to finish my errands. My friend, Tom, at a Sebago booth on Duval provided a frosty bottle of water.

My husband found someone at Sears willing to quickly help. He came home, installed the new battery. $173.60 gives us no more dings, clicks nor other anomalies. He picked me up as I was walking home and delivered me to air conditioning and took off to his golf game with his buddies.

Now, the lessons? I realized as I embarked on my walk that this was a message, a sign if you will. I’m very big on signs. As I walked, I made every attempt to walk under every massive shade tree that I could. That helped with the heat. Then I saw the butterflies. There were butterflies everywhere! A few fluttered in front of my face for a short time. I remembered that our friend who was recently killed had a wonderful butterfly sculpture in her office. More signs! Except for my soon-dripping clothing and hair, it was a great walk – at least until I got close to the obnoxious bikers. They took all the peace and beauty from the walk, but hey, I just got away from them as quickly as I could and once again, felt peaceful and grateful for the experience.

For those who have never paid attention to the entire Mercury in Retrograde phenomenon, there’s this from the Old Farmers Almanac: “…Perhaps Mercury’s retrograde periods can cause our plans to go awry. However, this is an excellent time to reflect on the past. Intuition is high during these periods, and coincidences can be extraordinary.

“The planet Mercury rules communication, travel, contracts, automobiles, and such. So, when Mercury is retrograde, remain flexible, allow time for extra travel, and avoid signing contracts. Review projects and plans at these times, but wait until Mercury is direct again to make any final decisions.”

For me, it appears that Mercury in retrograde results in failures and complications when it comes to mechanical items and electronics. However, I’m taking the advice from the almanac to heart, and reflecting, enjoying the coincidences and paying attention to my intuition.